Accused murderer Donna Adelson appeared in a Tallahassee courtroom Monday, where she reportedly pleaded not guilty to murder and couldn’t keep quiet, prompting a Leon County judge to admonish her.
According to Law&Crime, Judge Stephen Everett became fed up with Adelson after numerous outbursts during the hearing, where it was learned she had made comments about taking her own life while in the Leon County Detention Facility.
“Oh my God,” she said as the judge discussed her alleged suicide comments. She also reportedly smirked as a jail official explained why Adelson was placed in solitary confinement.
“Ms. Adelson, please keep your comments to yourself,” Everett said. “Let your lawyer [Marissel Descalzo] argue on your behalf.”
Adelson apologized following the judge’s comments.
Donna Adelson speaks out in court: When the prosecutor talked about #DonnaAdelson speaking of a plan to kill herself, Donna said “oh my God’, aloud in court. The judge admonished her to not speak out. pic.twitter.com/flxeblQ4kM
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) December 11, 2023
A probable cause affidavit outlined Adelson’s alleged threats of suicide, allegedly made during jail phone calls.
“Jail calls from after Charles Adelson’s guilty verdict include multiple calls in which Donna Sue Adelson is telling Charles Adelson that she is getting things in order, creating trusts, and making she her grandchildren are taken care of,” the affidavit read. “Donna discusses plans for a suicide, but also discusses plans to flee to a non-extradition country.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Adelson was arrested at Miami International Airport on November 13, as she and her husband, Harvey, were preparing to board a one-way flight to Vietnam.
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They attempted to flee a week after a jury found Charles Adelson guilty of hiring two men from Miami to assassinate her former son-in-law, Dan Markel. The killing happened amid a custody dispute with Dan Markel’s wife, Wendi Adelson (Donna Adelson’s daughter), over their two children.
Charles Adelson, a Florida dentist, is Donna Adelson’s son.
The two hired men, identified as “hitmen” in the murder, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, were also convicted for Markel’s murder, along with Charles Adelson’s former girlfriend, Katie Magbanua.
Donna Adelson is now charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation in the alleged murder-for-hire killing of Dan Markel.
Charles Adelson’s guilty verdict following an 8-day trial at the Leon County Courthouse is what allegedly prompted Donna Adelson’s suicide threats.
In a motion filed earlier this month, Miami attorney Marissel Descalzo requested that Adelson be taken out of solitary confinement or, as an alternative, placed under house arrest. Descalzo outlined various concerns, including Adelson reportedly sitting “naked” on a mattress on the floor and being “forced to eat with her hands.”
Everett ultimately rejected Descalzo’s request and ordered her to undergo an independent psychological evaluation. Tallahassee Democrat reports that the evaluation is designed to “move her off suicide watch.”
She remains jailed at the Leon County Detention Facility.
[Feature Photo: Wendi Adelson and Dan Markel/Handout]
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